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White Sox Prospect Zack Collins Eager For Continued Improvement

(CBS) It was a year ago that Zack Collins had his name called 10th overall by the Chicago White Sox, a day he will never forget.

Now, the White Sox are preparing for their next MLB amateur draft, this time with the 11th pick in the first round come Monday night and in a different position from a year ago. The organization is rebuilding, and prospects like Collins are considered a key piece of their future.

Collins and others within the White Sox organization are eager for the future while working toward improvement.

“Obviously, it’s a process,” Collins said in an interview on 670 The Score on Saturday. “It will take some time, but we’re really excited. You saw what the Cubs did this past year. They had a lot of young talent on that team. We’re really looking forward to it.

“I kind of just go through it day by day and try to get better every day. It will come whenever the time comes. Whenever they think it’s best for me, that’s when I’ll move up.”

The White Sox have added a number of major prospects since drafting Collins last June. Most notably, the team acquired second baseman Yoan Moncada, right-hander Lucas Giolito, right-hander Michael Kopech, right-hander Dane Dunning and right-hander Reynaldo Lopez through trades, then signed prized Cuban outfielder Luis Robert last month.

Collins leads the names of homegrown talents looking to move up through the organization. He entered Monday hitting .219 at advanced Class-A Winston-Salem but also an .820 OPS with nine homers and 28 RBIs in 55 games.

Considered a power-hitting catcher, Collins is continuing to work on improving his swing.

“Really, it all comes down to putting the ball in play hard, cutting down the strikeout rate and just putting good wood on the ball,” Collins said. “That’s what it really comes down to. That’s what we’ve been working on. I feel good right now.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a straight power hitter. I do like to hit home runs. That’s really what scores runs in games and helps teams wins. But I like to hit the ball to all fields, too. I kind of hit my home runs half to right, half to left, some to center. That’s how I go about my business.”